Henry Morgan: The Pirate Who Invaded Panama in 1. They were, in point of fact, a gang of criminals — pure, unadulterated pirates. Morgan is a female orca who was "rescued" in the Wadden Sea, off the northwestern coast of the Netherlands in June 2010. She was found in an unhealthy condition. Lee Morgan Indeed! Morgan Thermal Ceramics manufactures and installs a wide range of thermal insulation products such as RCF, Superwool and Porextherm microporous products. Based in Cork, Ireland, we hold at least four auctions each year. Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton rarely step out together, but when they do, it's pretty damn adorable. The couple, who got together in 2009, is. Miles Morgan Travel is renowned for its excellent service and competitive prices. Our friendly expert team is second to none. Check here for important announcements and other Shroud of Turin Website news. This page will be updated whenever new page additions, articles and other resources are. At Morgan Lewis, we see our clients as partners. Whether you’ve been with us for days or decades, whether you’re today’s industry leader or tomorrow’s game. ![]() The leader of this enterprise was equally remarkable. Indomitably courageous and charismatic, Henry Morgan had a rags- to- riches life that would have made a fine subject for a Horatio Alger novel had he not also been one of the most rapacious, ruthless and unprincipled villains of his age. Born the son of a farmer in Llanrhymney, Wales, around 1. Henry Morgan had no inclination to follow in the father’s muddy footsteps and left home to seek his fortune. Control over how to seek that fortune slipped from his personal grasp, however, when he was shanghaied, shipped off to the West Indies and sold into indentured status in Barbados. Labor was a problem in the 1. West Indies. When native and even imported Indians were used up, black Africans and white Europeans were imported. ![]() In the case of the Europeans, a system of indenture rather than outright slavery was often practiced. Young men were deceived by unscrupulous agents who ultimately sold them into bondage. Many were transported for petty crimes or for debts as small as 2. Others were simply kidnapped. Indentured whites in the West Indies were not necessarily treated better than black or Indian slaves — in fact, it was often quite the reverse. Blacks and Indians in perpetual bondage represented capital assets to their masters, who therefore had a vested interest in their welfare. Since the whites were indentured for a given period of time, the master had less to lose if they died, particularly near the end of their service. In addition, the period of indenture — ostensibly three years among the French and seven years for the English — could be prolonged indefinitely. Many served 1. 5 to 2. Those, like Henry Morgan, who managed to survive to regain their freedom were usually released penniless, homeless, without prospects in the New World and without any means of returning to the Old World. Plants, seeds, fruit trees & seed potatoes from Thompson & Morgan UK. Buy online today with free delivery on orders over £60! Hardened and embittered by their ordeal, they often drifted together with others of their own kind and turned to crime. They also soon discovered that crimes directed against politically expedient victims were not only profitable but officially condoned. The nationality of those victims changed throughout the course of the century as wars and alliances came and went. For political, religious and especially economic reasons, however, the favorite targets were Spanish. In the middle of the 1. Spain still possessed the greatest empire in the world. Furthermore, the Spaniards had seemingly ended up with all the territory producing gold and silver. For more than a century they had been shipping it home by the galleon- load. It was little wonder, then, that the other European colonists were envious of Spain. They scratched out a living on a few fever- ridden little islands that the Spaniards had not seen fit to take, while casting covetous glances at the treasures ships outward bound from Mexico and Panama. That was particularly the case on the English island of Jamaica. Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1. Jamaica had been captured by the English from Spain during the course of a serendipitous campaign in 1. Because the island lacked gold, the Spanish didn’t consider it important enough to mount a serious retaliation. With the benefit of hindsight, noting Jamaica’s domination of the Yucatan Channel and the Windward Passage, two of the principal Caribbean trade routes, Spain’s failure to retake the island seems to have been a serious strategic blunder. In any case, by the mid- 1. Port Royal, Jamaica, few questions would be asked. At some point after the English conquest, Henry Morgan, having survived his indenture in Barbados, was recruited by a pirate crew. Posterity is indebted to John Esquemeling, a Dutch former slave who served as a pirate under Morgan, for his detailed description of typical 1. Salaries were based on a strict commission basis of . At the end of the cruise, the profits, if any, were divided up and each of the crew received a single chare, except for the master, who got five or six, and the mate, who received two. Provisions were to be distributed twice a day in equal portions, regardless of rank, and generally consisted of stolen livestock. One captain was known to roast Spaniards alive for refusing to show him where he could steal pigs. Surprisingly, the pirate articles included liberal disability compensation. For the loss of a right arm, 6. A left arm or right leg was worth 5. Eyes and fingers were valued equally at 1. Having prospered at his new profession, Morgan and a few of his new associates pooled their resources and bought a ship. He evidently made a good impression on his companions, because they chose him as captain. He also impressed his future patron, Captain Edward Mansvelt. Mansvelt (or Mansfield) was an ambitious old Dutch pirate from Curacao who was one of the first to gather large enough numbers of freebooters to attack whole towns rather than just individual ships. He became a sort of pirate godfather, in control of numerous ships and hundreds of men. His pirates had attacked Cartegena and had been known to raid overland as far as the Pacific coast of South America. This old reprobate must have recognized qualities of leadership and ruthlessness in Henry Morgan similar to his own, for he made the young Welshman his . Mansvelt accepted the commission, but had no intention of carrying it out. It wasn’t that the old villain had any compunction about attacking his own countrymen — he simply had something more ambitious in mind. After departing Port Royal, Mansvelt and Morgan took the 1. Curacao, sailed southwest for Central America. Mansfelt intended nothing less than the establishment of his own permanent island base, as an independent’state . Catherine and, judging from contemporary descriptions of its position, it may have been the island now known as San Andr. And since St. Catherine’s was sparsely populated and poorly guarded, the pirates made short work of the Spanish defenders. Leaving 7. 2 men to fortify the island under a French pirate from Tortuga called . When Mansvelt and Morgan learned that the governor of Panama was preparing to attack them, they decided to quit while they were ahead. They returned to Jamaica to divvy up their profits and recruit reinforcements. The victorious pirates were welcomed enthusiastically by the Port Royal business community, which featured a somewhat lax moral outlook. Mansvelt found a cool reception awaiting him form the Jamaican authorities, however. Not only had he countermanded Governor Modyford’s orders, but his island stronghold was viewed as a potential threat to British commerce. Undeterred, Mansvelt set sail once more, this time on a northeasterly course. If he couldn’t replenish his fleet in Jamaica, he could simply go elsewhere. The destination this time was an island off the northwest coast of what is now Haiti. The Spanish mariner who first discovered this nasty little plague spot thought it looked like a giant tortoise, and as part of French- speaking Haiti it is still called Isle de la Tortue. It is better known, however, through the Spanish rendering as Tortuga. The isle of Tortuga first and nominally had been settled by the Spaniards, but they had been driven out by French squatters, who eked out a living planting tobacco and hunting the wild hogs with which the island was infested. The hunters were known as boucaniers, which might be translated as pork purveyors, or . In 1. 66. 6, soon after arriving in Tortuga, he died suddenly — whether from natural causes or by foul play is not recorded. In any case, Henry Morgan succeeded him as the de facto head of the international criminal empire Mansvelt had founded. Meanwhile, things had not gone well for the pirate garrison left behind on St. The governor of Panama, Don Juan Perez de Guzman, dispatched a force of 5. Le Sieur Simon, bribed by the Spaniards, betrayed the garrison, which was overpowered on August 1. In addition, when a pirate relief ship arrived on September 1. Simon personally piloted it into the harbor and betrayed its crew as well. At that point, Henry Morgan’s unprecedented pirate rampage began. By 1. 66. 8, his power and prestige were sufficient to assemble 1. British and French, for the sack of the Cuban town of Puerto del Principe (now called Camag. The raid yielded a satisfactorily profitable 5. Influenced by Mansvelt, Morgan still had designs on Panama in mind. After the obligator post- raid interlude in Jamaica, Morgan sailed for Portobel with nine ships and 5. Portobelo was the eastern terminus for Panamanian trade, and all the gold from Peru passed through that port on to Spain. Its harbor entrance was flanked by two fortresses, manned by a permanent garrison of at least 3. And the fewer. Leaving 1. Portobelo from the landward side, achieved complete surprise. The first for was quickly taken, its defenders massacred and the magazine blown up. The second fort’s commander, however, had time to organize his defenses, so Morgan ordered his men to fabricate scaling ladders. Self- sacrifice was not a characteristic pirate trait, so local priests and nuns were conscripted to carry the ladders. Even so, many of Morgan’s men were killed or wounded in the assault, but they successfully stormed the fortress. The Spanish commander fought to the end, threatening to pistol any of his men who tried to surrender, but to no avail. He was eventually killed and the pirates took possession of the town. After the customary interlude of rape, murder and pillage, Morgan sent a ransom demand to the governor of Panama: 1. He also sent along a pistol as a symbol of how easily he had taken Portobelo and declared that in a year he would return and take his pistol back again. The governor scorned Morgan’s boast, but he duly paid the ransom.
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